September Week 2 Review

Monday 9/7
A good ride today. Short one, just 20 minutes, but I managed to do flatwork, go for a quick gallop, and hop through the grid. She was good and responsive for all three.

Tuesday 9/8
Squeezed in a half hour ride before the farrier appointment today. She was good. The flatwork is good and responsive - need to work on better trot-canter transitions, she tends to hollow and rush and I tend to throw away leg and rein. Need some lessons, but for working on our own we are doing okay.
Had a moment of frustration in the day's ride, but we were able to move past it.

Wednesday 9/9
A pretty good ride. She is a little footsore from the farrier visit yesterday which does NOT please me, she's never been sore before, so I'm wondering if it's just because it had been so dry, then it got really wet, then it all dried out again. Anyway. She was fine walking on smooth ground or pavement, but VERY sore walking across gravel, and she seemed short-strided at the trot to me even in the arena. So we did lots of walking. Walked all around the big field, up and down the hill in it. Then we walked around the pasture that they were in, took a fun trip down through the dry stream bed to this neat little area on the other side. Normally at ditches she stops, blows, inches forward, then leaps over - this one she slowed down to eyeball it then marched right through. Good girl.
She better be less sore tomorrow, or I'm going to start worrying about the clinic. At least we don't ride till Saturday, so that's four more days.

Thursday 9/10
Much better today on the footsoreness. I had a nice ride on the flat - I really feel like we are making some progress on lateral work. Then Mom and I went for a walk out in the field. Pandora was very calm and mellow.

Friday 9/11
Hauled a couple hours to the clinic in Redmond. She was very good for hauling with my friend's young gelding and she settled in nicely, chomping through hay and drinking well. We stabled them pretty far apart so they don't act like idiots this weekend if they have to be separated. The stalls have nice little paddocks off of them, so she can go in and out.

Saturday 9/12
Clinic day one, Stadium Jumping. He gave me tools to help fix the rushing - lengthen, compress, lengthen, compress. My half halts have started going through and she can do a pretty darn nice walk-canter transition. I need to stop allowing her to drop her head after the last fence, and keep my shoulders up and back.
Pandora is still eating and drinking very well. It was a hot hot hot 2.5 hour lesson, and she drank a LOT after we were done.

Sunday 9/13
Clinic day two, XC. She came right into warmup today with an adjustable attitude, whereas on Saturday she wanted to completely tune me out. Had a very good ride - more work on ME in terms of keeping a strong upper body at and over the fence and keeping my left heel down, while just letting her do her thing. We jumped our first down bank into water, no big deal at all.
Not as hot today, still a pretty long ride, she drank lots again.
Long ride home but she was very patient for it and seemed glad to be back in her stall with yet more hay.